Fact Check: Recordkeeping Requirements: How Long to Keep Time and Payroll Records by State

"Lose the time records and you lose the wage-hour case — the Supreme Court has held since 1946 that inadequate employer records flip the burden onto the employer to disprove the employee's reasonable inference."

"Helix Energy Solutions Group v. Hewitt, 598 U.S. 39 (2023), held that a highly compensated daily-rate worker failed the salary basis test."

"Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC, 220 F.R.D. 212 (S.D.N.Y. 2003), set the spoliation framework. Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(e), as amended in 2015, distinguishes negligent loss from intentional deprivation."

Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co., 328 U.S. 680 (1946), pottery workers sued for unpaid pre-shift walking time and post-shift cleanup; employer kept no records.

Verbatim quote from Mt. Clemens — "An employee has carried out his burden if he proves that he has in fact performed work for which he was improperly compensated and if he produces sufficient evidence to show the amount and extent of that work as a matter of just and reasonable inference ..."

Verbatim Tyson Foods quote — "When employers violate their statutory duty to keep proper records, and employees thereby have no way to establish the time spent doing uncompensated work, the remedial nature of this statute and the great public policy which it embodies militate against making that burden an impossible hurdle for the employee."

Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, 11 Cal. 5th 58 (2021), holds that a time record showing missed/short/late meal period creates a rebuttable presumption of a violation.

Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC, 220 F.R.D. 212 (S.D.N.Y. 2003), established the preservation-duty framework.

"29 USC §211(c) requires employers to 'make, keep, and preserve' wage and hour records; the regulations spell out the twelve specific records ... the three-year window for payroll records, the two-year window for the underlying time cards, and the seventy-two-hour-on-demand production rule."

"Federal payroll retention: 3 years for the §516.2(a) payroll list (29 CFR §516.5)."

"Federal time-card retention: 2 years for the underlying daily start/stop records and wage-rate tables (29 CFR §516.6)."

"Federal place-of-records rule: records must be produced within 72 hours of a DOL demand at a central recordkeeping office (29 CFR §516.7)."

"Federal SOL: 2 years FLSA, 3 years for willful violations (29 USC §255(a))."

"NY SOL 6 years (NYLL §198(3)); CA UCL 4 years (Bus. & Prof. Code §17208); MA mandatory treble damages 3 years (MGL c.151 §1B)."

"29 CFR §516.6(a) protects punch-by-punch detail for two years as 'supplementary basic records' — 'all basic time and earning cards or sheets on which are entered the daily starting and stopping time of individual employees.'"

"29 USC §216(b) doubles liquidated damages; 29 USC §255(a) reaches 3 years under willful-violation window."

"California Labor Code §226(c) requires production within 21 calendar days; §226(f) provides $750 statutory penalty per failure."

29 USC §211(c) verbatim quote — "Every employer subject to any provision of this chapter ... shall make, keep, and preserve such records ..."

29 CFR §516.2(a) twelve-item list — name, address, DOB if under 19, sex and occupation, workweek start, regular rate, hours worked each workday and workweek, straight-time earnings, premium overtime pay, additions/deductions, total wages paid, payment date and pay period.

29 CFR §516.3 — for §13(a)(1) exempt employees, items (6)–(10) of §516.2(a) are dropped; basis-of-pay sufficient for total remuneration calculation including fringe benefits.

29 CFR §516.5 — three categories of payroll records preserved at least 3 years from last date of entry: §516.2 / §516.3 payroll, agreements/plans/notices, sales and purchase records.

29 CFR §516.6 — three categories preserved at least 2 years: supplementary basic records (time cards, wage-rate tables), order/shipping/billing records, additions/deductions records.

29 CFR §516.7 verbatim quote — "Each employer shall keep the records required by this part safe and accessible at the place or places of employment, or at one or more established central recordkeeping offices ... such records shall be made available within 72 hours following notice from the Administrator ..."

29 USC §255(a) verbatim quote — "May be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued ... except that a cause of action arising out of a willful violation may be commenced within three years ..."

California Labor Code §1174 — "These records shall be kept on file for not less than three years."

California Labor Code §1174 forbids employer from prohibiting an employee from maintaining a personal record of hours worked.

California Labor Code §1175 makes failure to keep §1174 records a misdemeanor.

Labor Code §226(c) verbatim — "An employer who receives a written or oral request to inspect or receive a copy of records pursuant to subdivision (b) ... shall comply with the request as soon as practicable, but no later than 21 calendar days from the date of the request."

Labor Code §226(f) verbatim — "$750 penalty from the employer" for failure to permit inspection within §226(c) window.

Bus. & Prof. Code §17208 — "Any action to enforce any cause of action pursuant to this chapter shall be commenced within four years after the cause of action accrued."

NY Lab. Law §195(4) — six-year retention for "contemporaneous, true, and accurate payroll records showing for each week worked the hours worked; the rate or rates of pay ..."

NY Lab. Law §661 — parallel six-year retention for minimum-wage records.

NY Lab. Law §198(3) — six-year statute of limitations.

HRS §387-6 requires recordkeeping with retention period delegated to director; Hawaii DLIR Wage Standards Division applies 6-year period by rule.

Treas. Reg. §31.6001-1 — records related to FICA, FUTA, and federal income tax withholding maintained at least 4 years after due date of tax for return period.

26 USC §6051 — W-2 employer copies fall under 4-year window.

ERISA §107 (29 USC §1027) — benefit plan records preserved at least 6 years after filing date of documents based on the information.

29 CFR §5.5(a)(3)(i)(A) — Davis-Bacon Act 3-year-post-completion retention for all regular payrolls and other basic records.

29 CFR §4.6(g)(1) — Service Contract Act 3-year-post-completion retention.

29 CFR §1904.33 — OSHA Form 300, privacy case list, annual summary, OSHA 301 Incident Report forms saved 5 years following end of calendar year covered.

29 CFR §1602.14 — EEOC personnel records 1 year from making, extending until final disposition of any pending charge.

29 CFR §825.500(b) — FMLA records preserved at least 3 years and made available for DOL inspection.

49 CFR §395.8(k) — motor carrier shall retain records of duty status and supporting documents for each driver not less than 6 months from date of receipt.

45 CFR §164.530(j) — HIPAA documentation retained 6 years from creation or last-in-effect date.

Washington WAC 296-126-050 — 3-year retention.

Oregon ORS 653.045 — statutory 2 years; BOLI applies 3 years.

Colorado C.R.S. §8-4-103(4.5) — 3-year retention; up to $250 per employee per month penalty, $7,500 cap per CDLE INFO #3A.

Pennsylvania 34 Pa. Code §231.31 — "The records shall be preserved for a period of 3 years from date of last entry."

Connecticut C.G.S. §31-66 — 3-year retention at place of employment; Conn. Agencies Regs. §31-60-12 sets record content.

D.C. Code §32-1008 — 3 years or prevailing federal standard, whichever greater.

Massachusetts G.L. c. 151 §15 — "Such records shall be kept on file for at least three years after the entry date of the record."

Maryland LE §3-424 — 3 years; record includes race, gender, and occupation in addition to standard payroll items.

North Carolina NCGS §95-25.13 + 13 NCAC 12 .0802 — 3 years (administrative rule sets period).

Indiana 31 IAC 5-7-9 — 3 years.

Texas — TWC Rule 815.106 + Tex. Lab. Code Ch. 61 — 4-year UI / TWC standard.

Arizona A.R.S. §23-364(D) — 4-year minimum-wage records retention.

New Jersey Wage Payment Law / Wage and Hour Law records must be kept for 6 years.

"Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, 577 U.S. 442 (2016), extended Mt. Clemens to representative evidence at class certification, producing a $2.9 million jury verdict doubled to roughly $5.8 million in final FLSA recovery."

Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, 577 U.S. 442 (2016), Iowa pork-processing donning-and-doffing case; Dr. Mericle study used as representative evidence; jury verdict $2,892,378.70 doubled to $5,785,757.40 final judgment; Eighth Circuit affirmed; Supreme Court affirmed.

"Longest state retention: New York, New Jersey, and Hawaii — 6 years (NY Lab. Law §195(4); N.J.A.C. Title 12, Chapter 2, Appendix A; HRS §387-6 plus DLIR rule)."

50-state retention table covers all 50 states + DC with statute/regulation citation and notable column.

Federal-default rows — Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, DC (floor), Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada (statutorily 2yr), New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia (2yr), Wisconsin, Wyoming — defer to federal 3-year or have shorter state floors that the federal floor controls.

"California $750 inspection penalty under Lab. Code §226(f); Colorado $250/employee/month, $7,500 cap under C.R.S. §8-4-103(4.5); Washington $250/$500/$1,000 graduated under RCW 49.12.250."

NY Lab. Law §198(1-b) — $50-per-workday wage-notice penalty (up to $5,000); §198(1-d) — $250-per-workday wage-statement penalty (up to $5,000).

SHB 1308 imposes graduated statutory damages — $250 (delay past 21 days), $500 (past 28 days), $1,000 (past 35 days), plus $500 catch-all penalty for other violations of RCW 49.12.250(1).

"Layered federal retention: IRS employment-tax 4 years (Treas. Reg. §31.6001-1); ERISA benefit-plan 6 years (29 USC §1027); OSHA injury logs 5 years (29 CFR §1904.33); EEOC personnel records 1 year extending during a charge (29 CFR §1602.14); FMLA 3 years (29 CFR §825.500)."

"Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, 577 U.S. 442 (2016), expanded Mt. Clemens into the class-certification context — $2.9 million jury verdict doubled to roughly $5.8 million in final recovery, because Tyson kept no donning-and-doffing time records."

DOL Fact Sheet #21 confirms 3-year payroll / 2-year supporting-records framework; FLSA does not require itemized pay stubs.

Employer Reporting Improvement Act (signed December 23, 2024) codified 6-year statute of limitations for §4980H Employer Shared Responsibility assessments imposed after December 31, 2024.

Washington SHB 1308 signed May 13, 2025, effective July 27, 2025, amended RCW 49.12.240 and RCW 49.12.250.

Employer Reporting Improvement Act (ERIA) signed December 23, 2024.

NY S5572 signed September 15, 2023, effective March 13, 2024, raised exec/admin/professional minimum-wage threshold from $900 to $1,300/week — does NOT affect recordkeeping retention.

ELD mandate effective December 18, 2017; full enforcement April 1, 2018.

Federal §516 framework stable; no major amendments through May 2026.

SHB 1308 extends personnel-file access to former employees within 3 years of separation; 21-calendar-day production deadline.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(e), 2015 amendment, distinguishes negligent loss (lesser sanctions) from intentional deprivation (adverse-inference instructions, case-dispositive sanctions).

"FLSA does not require pay stubs" — federal duty is to maintain records, not to deliver itemized statement to employee; every meaningful pay-stub right comes from state law.

Recordkeeping operational guidance — "export-on-termination clause with SaaS vendor and quarterly audit-readiness test of the retrieval pipeline."